Hard Bop

Definition: a style developed in the 1950s by musicians such as Horace Silver, Clifford Brown, Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, and others. Seen as an extension of bebop, hard bop infused the earlier style with elements of R&B, blues, and gospel. Hard bop was just as virtuosic as bebop, but sought to make jazz more appealing to dance audiences, the way swing had been. A reaction to “cool jazz,” which was partly influenced by European classical music, hard bop is characterized by its focus solely on African American musical styles.